Looking for Hickories: The Forgotten Wildness of the Rural Midwest

A new voice reveals the unique character of the upper Midwest

In the spirit of other writers who share an affinity for the natural world---authors such as Robert Frost, Emerson, and Bill Bryson---Looking for Hickories is Tom Springer's ode to the people, natural beauty, and lore of the Midwest, a place where bustling communities neighbor a fragile mosaic of quiet woods, fertile meadows, and miles of farmland.

Touching and humorous by turns, Looking for Hickories captures the essence of the upper Midwest's character with subjects particular to the region yet often universal in theme, from barn building to land preservation to the neglected importance of various trees in the landscape.

Like Frost's best poems, Springer's essays often begin with delight and end in wisdom. They mingle a generosity of spirit and the childlike pleasure of discovery with a grown-up sense of a time and a place, if not lost, then in danger of disappearing altogether---things to treasure and preserve for today and tomorrow.

Tom Springer is a senior editor at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. For the foundation, he wrote the books Blessed with Children and How to Unravel Science Mysteries for Young Minds without Unraveling. He has also written about nature and outdoor travel for newspapers and magazines such as Backpacker, Michigan Out-of-Doors, and Notre Dame, and his nature-themed commentaries have aired on several National Public Radio programs. Springer holds a master's degree in environmental journalism from Michigan State University. He lives near Three Rivers, Michigan.